Just the Way You Are
by LiaBelle
Summary: An encounter with one of Danny's ex-girlfriends leaves Lindsay insecure. 3rd in Billy Joel Series.


"Danny Messer, is that you?" A high pitched squeal interrupted the conversation Danny and Lindsay were having over lunch. The tall, slender body that was attached to the squeal quickly materialized by their booth.

Danny looked up. "Gina Marlowe," he said, a forced grin on his face. "Long time no see."

"If by 'long time' you mean two years!" she said in the same squealy voice. Lindsay hated her instantly.

Gina sat down next to him without any invitation and hugged him hard before he had a chance to react. "Who's your little friend?" she asked, acknowledging Lindsay for the first time.

"Hi, I'm Lindsay Monroe, Danny's girlfriend," Lindsay stuck out a hand for her to shake.

Gina just looked at her hand as though she wasn't sure what to do with it. "Girlfriend," she repeated slowly, "how….cute."

"Yeah, we're told we look adorable together," Lindsay said sweetly.

Gina rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Danny. "So, I never thought I'd run into you here!" Everything this girl said seemed to be followed by an exclamation point or two. "So, when I saw you I was like, is that really him?!"

Danny nodded. "It's really me," he said, that same fake grin plastered to his face. "What brings you back to New York? I thought you moved to Europe."

"Oh, yes, I know! I've lived in Paris for the last year and half! I'm back for a shoot they're doing here!"

"So you're still into modeling?" Danny asked.

"Yeah! It's so much fun! I just love it!"

She reached her slender hand out to rest on Danny's. He quickly snatched his hand away with an uncomfortable cough. "Listen, Gina, it's been nice to catch up with you, but we've really got to be going, don't we babe?" He shot Lindsay a 'help me out, would ya?' look.

"Yeah," Lindsay quickly piped in. "We've got to be back at work in fifteen minutes." This was a lie. They both had the day off, but Gina didn't need to know that. Lindsay quickly slid out of the booth. "Nice to meet you, Jenny."

"It's Gina," Gina corrected giving Lindsay the evil eye. She reluctantly stood up so that Danny could get out of the booth. Before Danny could walk away she flung her arms around his neck. "Call me if you get bored with her," she said loudly enough for Lindsay to hear.

Lindsay bit her lip to keep from giving this blonde bimbo a piece of her mind.

"Bye, Gina," Danny laced his fingers through Lindsay and all but pulled her out of the diner. "I am so sorry," he told her once they were on the street walking back to the apartment.

"It's ok," she said quietly. Danny could tell that it wasn't ok, but didn't want to push her, especially on the sidewalk. He'd talk to her about it when they got home.

Once they arrived home, Lindsay immediately went into the bedroom and locked the door. Danny sighed, knowing that if her mood was bad enough to lock the door that it'd be a while before she'd let him in. She'd only done this a few times before, but all the previous times she'd kept the door locked for about an hour, and then unlocked it, but didn't come out. It was her way of telling him that she wanted to talk now, but that he'd better be the bigger person and come to her.

He settled onto the couch, sighing again, and turned on the TV. He found a game that was on, but his heart just wasn't into it. He tried to pay attention to what was going on. His mind was stuck on the feisty brunette that was most likely crying in the next room.

Danny checked the door periodically, waiting for her to unlock it, but it took longer this time. It wasn't until two hours later that he jiggled the doorknob and it surprised him by opening.

Lindsay was curled up on her side of the bed, facing away from the doorway. He crawled in bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She stiffened slightly before relaxing into his arms. He laid there silently for a few minutes until she shifted in his arms so that she was facing him. Her red, puffy eyes told him that she'd been crying and broke his heart a little.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

Lindsay didn't answer at first. Instead she buried her face in his chest. Danny stroked her hair and gave her a chance to pull herself back together before she pulled her face away and looked into his eyes. "Why me?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" He was truly confused. He wasn't quite sure where this question was coming from.

She was more specific with her question this time. "Why'd you pick me when you could have any girl that you want?"

"Because you are the one that I want. That's all there is to it, Montana. I'd never met a girl like you, and to this day I still haven't."

"I'm not like the other girls you've dated." An image of the tall, gorgeous Gina popped into her head.

"Nope," he said, "you're not. And that's why you're the one that I want to be with. You're the one that I want forever."

"But Gina's beautiful," Lindsay persisted. "She's a model and is blonde and tall and perfect."

"Lindsay, honey, none of that's real. She's had so much plastic surgery that she's more Barbie than actual human. Even with all that surgery, she's still not as beautiful as you are."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "I bet you tell all the girls that."

"Nope, just you. Lindsay, I don't want that anymore. I don't care about tall, blonde models. I want you, just the way you are." Danny sealed his statement with a kiss. "Besides, I've always been partial to brunettes, myself."

Lindsay smiled and snuggled closer to him. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Danny assured her. "Gina was way out of line." He scoffed. "She was annoying really, I don't know why I dated her in the first place."

"How long did you date her?"

"Um, about a month," Danny told her, causing Lindsay to burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"

"She just made it seem like you two were this huge item."

"She wishes!" Danny joked.

"Well, she'll have to get past me first," Lindsay said, a hint of possessiveness in her voice. She was silent for a minute. "You won't get bored of me, will you?"

"Never," Danny promised her.

"Good," Lindsay kissed him sweetly. "I love you too much to lose you."

"You won't. I love you too much to live without you."

"Just the way I am?"

"Just the way you are."

**A/N Ah, how I love the ex-girlfriend/boyfriend stories. They're so fun to write! **

**xoxo**

**Lia**


End file.
